The Witchlighter Chronicles 1 revised version
by Twilight Shadowstar
Summary: Things are tough for the Charmed Ones, so they "hire help." Oh come on, just read it, better summary inside.


Disclaimer: I do not own "Charmed." I only own the extra characters I made up for this fanfic.  
  
Notes: I posted this story under another username, but I accidentally deleted the story from my document manager, so here I go again, with this username. Also, THE CHARACTER OF KESTREL IS NOT BASED ON ME (although I wish she was.) I picked the name Kestrel as part of my other username cause I think it's a neat name. I thought I'd use it again as the name of a character. That's all.  
  
Also, this is the first installment of a series, so there will be sequels.  
  
Summary: Killing demons, saving the world, looking after a twice-blessed baby, maintaining careers, trying to find out the secrets of a mysterious whitelighter, and all that other crap is a lot of work for just three people, even three people as extraordinary as Piper, Paige, and Phoebe. The sisters are on the brink of a melt-down. So Leo goes searching for someone to help them out with their endless "to-do" list.  
Kestrel Tang is half witch and half whitelighter. 'Witchlighter,' she calls herself. She is a young woman trying to maintain a semi-normal life while dealing with the supernatural world at the same time. But her magic is powerful, and she may be the one the Halliwells need.  
  
And without further ado, onward with the story!  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Piper Halliwell sat unmoving in her chair. She should have been doing something productive. Hunting down a demon, or perhaps tidying the house. She knew that there was work to be done. There's always work to be done, she thought.  
And yet she still refused to budge. Instead, she stared at the photo in her hands. It showed herself and her husband, no that wasn't right, former husband Leo - on their wedding day. She remembered a time when looking at the photo made her happy. But now it only brought bitter memories. He left me to become an elder, she thought, and her anguish mounted. He left me, he left me, he left me.  
The photo slipped from her hands and fell to the carpeted floor.  
  
Phoebe stormed down the stairs, muttering to herself. "Go to work, kill demon, go home," she said aloud. "It's all I ever do. I don't have time for me anymore." She stopped when she saw the forlorn figure of Piper sitting in a chair. "Oh sweetie," she whispered. She walked over to her sister and touched her shoulder. "You really miss him, don't you?"  
"Yes, I do, you know I do," said Piper. Her voice sounded dead. "Ever since he left, it seems like there's never been so many things we need to do."  
"That probably has something to do with Chris." A new voice joined the conversation. Piper and Phoebe looked up to see their youngest sister standing in the doorway. "With all the demon hunting. There can't possibly be another whitelighter who's that obsessed with getting rid of demons."  
"Yeah, that's part of it, I guess," said Phoebe. She picked up Piper's wedding photo and traced a finger along the edge of the frame absent-mindedly. "But then there's also looking after Wyatt, and going to work, and."  
"We've got another demon to vanquish," someone said. No one needed to look up to know who it was.  
"Not now, Chris!" the three sisters shouted in unison.  
The whitelighter walked over to them with a sigh. "You know it's for Wyatt's good," he said.  
"But I have a new temp job!" wailed Paige.  
"And I need to finish tomorrow's column," said Phoebe.  
Piper said nothing.  
"This is kind of important," Chris reminded them.  
That was the last straw for Piper. She leapt to her feet. "You know what the problem is around here? Everything is too damn important. Work is important. Killing demons is important. No one has time for anything except obligations. I'm sick of this!" A flower pot in the corner of the room exploded.  
No one moved to clean it up. They all felt the truth of Piper's words.  
But it didn't seem that there was much they could do about it. "Being Charmed has a price," said Phoebe.  
That was true too.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
It was not a happy night. Piper couldn't sleep. She glanced at the unoccupied spot beside her in bed. It wasn't always unoccupied, she thought.  
She heard the familiar jingle of orb lights. "Damn it, Chris, not now!" she shouted. "I'm trying to sleep!"  
"Who says I'm Chris?" replied a voice in the dark.  
Piper choked and sat bolt upright in bed. Someone turned on the lights, illuminating the figure standing in front of her bed. "Leo," whispered Piper. Part of her wanted to move toward him, take him into her arms, and sob into his shoulder. Another part of her wanted to slap him in the face for all the misery he had caused her. A third part was afraid. What if she had finally lost it? What if when she moved to hug him, or hit him, he faded away, nothing more than a dream?  
She didn't know what to do, so she did nothing.  
Leo spoke. "I know what's troubling you," he said softly.  
"Of course you know what's troubling me. You're an almighty Elder." She spat the word out as though it were something vile. "Don't you Elders know everything?"  
"Piper, please, I'm trying to tell you something. I might be able to help you."  
"Nothing can help me!" screamed Piper. To her shame, she felt tears coursing down her cheeks. "You left me, you bastard! You abandoned me!"  
Two more people orbed in - Paige and Phoebe. They glanced from Piper to Leo, shock on their faces. Then Paige nudged Phoebe in the ribs. "I told you she wasn't screaming from a nightmare."  
"Phoebe? Paige? I'm glad you're here. I have a way to help all of you." Leo spoke quickly.  
"Help us with what?" demanded Phoebe. "The only way you can help is by giving up being an Elder."  
"But you won't do that, will you?" added Paige. "Being an Elder is oh so important."  
Leo sighed. "Not you too. You know that I didn't have a choice about becoming an Elder. And right now, I'm trying to help you guys. I have a suggestion."  
"Then hurry up and get it over with," said Piper. "I can't stand the sight of you. None of us can." The look of hurt that showed on Leo's face made Piper want to take back the words, but it was too late.  
Still, he continued to speak. "I could find another witch to help you guys out.with things in general. Demon-hunting. Looking after Wyatt. Things. Admit it, it would be nice to have a sort of magical aide."  
The mood of the room changed. Leo's proposal appealed to everyone.  
"Who did you have in mind?" asked Piper in a different tone.  
"She's a young witch, about twenty or so. Working as an editor for a book-publishing company in New Jersey."  
"What are her powers?" asked Phoebe.  
"Half-witch, half whitelighter, like Paige, Chris.and Wyatt."  
"And I though we were the only ones," muttered Paige.  
Leo continued, "She's quite powerful. Her witch powers are telekinesis and energy balls. Her whitelighter powers are orbing and healing. She knows the use of spells, and martial arts."  
"What's the girl's name?" Piper was speaking again.  
"Kestrel - Kestrel Tang."  
For a moment, no one spoke. Finally, Phoebe said, "I think it might be a good idea."  
Slowly, Paige and Piper nodded their agreement.  
"I'll go find her then," said Leo.  
Before he orbed out, Piper called out, "Leo, I'm sorry."  
They were simple words, but the Elder caught the meaning in them. A smile brightened his face as his body was engulfed in orb lights.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Kestrel hurried through the parking lot, searching for her car. Her cell phone rang. The woman picked it up, and growled a Chinese swearword under her breath when she saw who was calling.  
"Hello, Mr. Barbtock," she said with a grimace.  
"Kestrel? I'm glad you picked up. I wondering whether you wanted to go out."  
"No, Mr. Barbtock, I'm sorry."  
There was a silence on the other end. Then her boss spoke in a menacing voice. "If you don't I'll fire you."  
"And I'll find work elsewhere," snapped Kestrel, losing her patience. "Look, Mr. Barbtock, It's dark and cold out, and I need to find my car so I can go home. So do me a favor and quit harassing me, or I'll report you."  
"No one rejects me." Barbtock's voice shook with fury. "You're fired, Miss Tang."  
"No, I quit. You underpay me anyway." Without another word, Kestrel turned off the phone and thrust it into her purse, fuming.  
The demon came out of nowhere. Kestrel orbed out and in just in time to avoid a fireball. With a growl, the demon rushed at her, black claws outstretched.  
"Crap, another demon fight," grumbled the woman. She kicked up high, her foot connecting solidly with the demon's chest. It fell to the ground. An energy ball appeared in her hand, and she launched it at the creature. It shrieked and disappeared in a flurry of flames.  
Kestrel sighed, rubbing her forehead. Things were not going well. Can't find the car, lost job after being harassed by horny boss, then got attacked by a demon. She ticked off the events in her mind. "Perfect," she muttered out loud.  
A swirl of orb lights appeared in front of her, parting to reveal.an Elder. Kestrel stepped back. Knowing that she should bow, or curtsy, or something, she tried to do both and almost lost her balance.  
The man - the Elder reached out a hand to steady her. "Hi Kestrel," he said.  
"Um, hi," replied Kestrel, unsure of what to say.  
"I'm Leo," said the Elder. "I have an assignment to propose."  
  
He explained the idea to her. She could be the Charmed Ones' assistant. Not such a shabby job, she mused. She proceeded to ask him questions. Would she have a new job, one in the non-magic world?  
Yes, she could work at the newspaper press where one of the Charmed Ones already worked.  
Did the sisters know that she might come?  
Yes, he had told them.  
How would she be able to see her family?  
She could orb, couldn't she?  
But her parents disapproved of magic, despite their being a witch and a whitelighter with a formerly illegal marriage by the Elders' rules.  
She used magic anyway.  
Kestrel pondered a moment - a long moment. I have nothing to lose, she thought. "I'll take the job," she said finally. 


End file.
